Recipes and Cooking Ethnic Food Mexican Recipes Here's What to Stock in a Mexican Pantry for Everyday Cooking Armed with the right pantry staples, you can whip up your favorite Mexican foods any time a craving hits. By Sandra A. Gutierrez Sandra A. Gutierrez Instagram Twitter Website Sandra Gutierrez is a national expert on the subject of Latin American cuisines, their history, and evolution, and on Southern Regional cuisine. A journalist, culinary instructor, lecturer, and food historian, her work has appeared in national and international publications including The Washington Post, Food & Wine, Eating Well, Southern Living, InStyle, People in Español, Cosmopolitan Latina, USA Today, Eating Well, Diabetic Living, Better Homes & Gardens, and many others. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Updated on May 4, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Mexican foods, renowned for their vibrant flavors, are among the most beloved in the world. Although there is great legend and lore surrounding them, most recipes are actually not difficult to re-create at home. That is, as long as you have the genuine Mexican ingredients needed to make the best that this Latin American cuisine offers. A complete Mexican pantry is more than a cupboard of cans and dry ingredients. It will include fresh items stored in your freezer and refrigerator, seasonal produce to keep on your counters, a baking section, and if you're like us, many ingredients that grow in your garden. Blaine Moats Your Long-Term Pantry Here is where you'll store anything that will last for a very long time on a shelf, when properly packaged. Transfer grains and legumes into jars or bins with tight-fitting lids for longer storage. Dried goods Beyond cans and jars, these dried items are a must for creating your favorite Mexican-inspired recipes Dried beans: black, pinto (the basis for our refried beans), small red, white Dried corn husks to wrap tamales Dried chiles such as: Ancho Chipotle Guajillo Mulato Pasilla Lentils Grains Of course you'll need rice to make tomatoey Mexican rice, but there are other grains to have on hand, too. Dried hominy (maíz pozolero) Assorted dried pastas (small pieces of vermicelli called fideos or angel hair pasta, spaghettini, tiny stars, elbows, and shells for soups, macaroni, etc.) Rice (long-grain and medium-grain white) for dishes such as red rice Jason Donnelly Canned and jar goods The heart of any well-stocked Mexican pantry will include cans and jars of these common Mexican ingredients. Bitter orange juice (Naranja Agria) Canned corn Canned fruits (mango, guava, peaches) Canned Mexican hominy (avoid overprocessed ones that are snow white) Canned tomatoes (whole, diced, and crushed) Capers Chipotles in adobo sauce Cooked whole beans Crabmeat Evaporated milk Fire-roasted tomatoes Hot sauces (make sure to select Mexican brands) Maggi sauce Mole bases Nopales (preserved cactus leaves) Olives (green and green stuffed with pimentos) Pickled chiles and pickled chiles in escabeche (usually serranos/jalapeños with vegetables) Refried beans (pinto) Roasted bell peppers Roasted tomatillos Salsa (or make your own) Sardines Soy sauce Sweetened condensed milk Tuna Vinegars (apple cider, white, and pineapple) Worcestershire Sauce Your Short-Term Pantry: Here is where you will keep assorted ingredients that will last only a few months or up to one year in storage and that you'll have to use and rotate more often. Annatto/Achiote paste Cooking oils (vegetable, olive oil) especially for frying foods such as these tacos Corn tortillas Dried fruits (apricots, prunes, raisins) Dried shrimp (found in packets) Dried spices (it is suggested you rotate these after a year) Ground cumin and cumin seeds Ground coriander Stars of anise Whole and ground anise seeds Cloves (whole and ground) Thyme Mexican oregano (different from regular oregano, due to a citrusy and licorice flavor profile) Dried chile powder (mostly Ancho, pasilla, chile pequín, and guajillo) Allspice Dried basil Bay leaves Dry avocado leaves Dried hoja santa Marjoram Nutmeg Salt and Pepper Flour tortillas Masa Harina Mayonnaise Prepared simmering sauces such as: Red chile Chile verde Tomatillo Enchilada Tostada shells Tortilla chips for dishes such as chilaquiles Vegetable shortening Cold Storage Mexican Foods Your refrigerator and freezer are important elements of a proper pantry. Keep them stocked with key Mexican ingredients at all times; they will save you a last-minute trip to the store. Refrigerated Foods Here is where dairy products, fresh fruits, and the vegetables that need to keep cool will live until you're ready to use them. You'll have to rotate these as needed, so check expiration dates. Butter Cabbages Cactus fruits/prickly pears (tuna) Carrots Celery Chayote squash Cheeses (such as crumbling cheese like Cotija and añejo; fresh cheese a.k.a. fresco; melting cheese such as asadero or panela and cream cheese) Chiles such as Poblanos Jalapeños to make this delicious Pico de Gallo Serranos Anaheim Habaneros Citrus (lemons, limes, oranges, sour oranges) Corn on the cob when in season Crema (Mexican crème fraîche), crème fraîche, or sour cream Cucumbers Eggs Fresh cactus leaves (nopales) Fresh herbs (such as cilantro, parsley, and epazote) Green beans Green onions or scallions Jícama Lard (for up to 6 months) Leeks Long-stemmed onions (cebollas del país) Mangos Mexican beer for drinks like micheladas Milk Mushrooms Pineapple Radishes Romaine lettuce Strawberries Winter squashes (calabaza) Zucchini and summer squash Zucchini flowers Frozen Foods Here is where you will store those ingredients that you purchase fresh or frozen. Some fresh ingredients will last much longer (sometimes, more than a year) when frozen. Select a drawer or section of the freezer to store your Mexican foods so they're always handy. Here are just some of what we keep in ours. Baking flours (they will last indefinitely if frozen)Banana leaves (sold frozen, for tamales)Corn kernels and whole cobsDried yeast (it lasts indefinitely if frozen)Huitlacoche (corn fungus)Leaf lard (it will keep frozen for up to 2 years)Masa harina (lasts up to 2 years if frozen)Meats such as bacon, beef, chicken, goat (cabrito), lamb (carnero), Mexican chorizo, pork, and turkeyNuts: (they will keep for up to 2 years when frozen)WalnutsPecansAlmonds (slivered, whole, and sliced)Peanuts (raw or unsalted and roasted)Pine nutsCashewsPomegranate seeds (for festive meals) Seafood (mostly scallops and shrimp)Seeds (we keep them in the freezer where they last up to 2 years)Pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds)Sesame seeds Jason Donnelly Your Perishable Pantry Ingredients There are always Mexican ingredients that are best bought fresh and that can keep on your counter for a few days. Fortunately, these are ingredients that you probably already use for your everyday cooking and that you will no doubt benefit from having on hand. AvocadosCitrus (limes, lemons, oranges)Mangoes Onions (red and white)PapayaPineapplePotatoesTomatoes (plum and slicing)Tomatillos From Your Garden One of the best ways to make sure you have the freshest ingredients is to grow them yourself. Here are a few Mexican ingredients that we grow in our garden. Apricots (chabacanos) Bananas (for the leaves too, in zones 8 and warmer) Cilantro (only during cold months) Epazote (best grown in containers so it doesn't invade your garden; used to flavor beans and has an umami flavor that can be described as lemony and rubbery) Garlic Hot chiles: chiltepines, jalapeños, poblanos, serranos Italian parsley Mexican sour gherkins (cucamelons) Mint (hierbabuena) Onions (long-green stemmed) Purslane (verdolagas) Quince Tomatoes (particularly round slicers, called "de bola" and plum tomatoes or "guajito") Tomatillos Watercress (berros) Your Baking Pantry Desserts deserve their own special category in a pantry filled with Mexican pantry essentials. All-purpose flourAlmond extractAnise extractAssorted alcohols such as rum, orange liqueur, coffee liqueurAssorted gelatin flavors and unflavored gelatin powderAssorted marmalades (such as guava, mango, orange, strawberry, pineapple, apricot)Baking powderBaking sodaChocolateBittersweet chocolate barsCocoa nibsCoconut extractGround raw cacaoMexican chocolate rounds (pastillas) Citrus extracts: orange and lemon Cornstarch (fécula de maíz)Granulated sugar Guava and quince pastes (ates)Mexican cinnamon (Ceylon cinnamon that is brittle so you can toast and blend it into powders. Don't use cassia cinnamon or you will break your appliances)Mexican vanilla (pods and extract)Unrefined sugarsAgaveDark brown sugarHoneyPiloncillo (unrefined sugar cones)Pure cane sugar Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit